Maadathy: An Unfairy Tale (2019)

India is a land of Subaltern deities for and by clans and communities. Locally known as siru theivam in Tamil (little-deities), the presence of these deities is supreme, and they reign every enclave of sub-continent. Each little-deity has unique legends of his or her origin. These legends are often interwoven with socio-historic tropes of India. Individuals who sacrificed their lives for greater cause of the society; people whose extra-ordinary and honourable actions paid to martyrdom; and those who were unjustly massacred by people in authority and power - were immortalised as deities in Indian tradition of little or folk-deities. Puthirai vannaar is a Dalit caste group, and lives in southern part of Tamil Nadu state in India. Their forced-occupation is to wash clothes of other Dalits, the dead and the menstruating women. The sight of Puthirai vannaars, as per caste norms, could pollute the so-called upper caste groups. Puthirvannars were forced to live in shrubs so they could remain unseeable to others. Maadathy is their deity. This film is a tale about a young girl who grew up in Puthirai vannaar caste group and how she came to be immortalised as their local deity, Maadathy.